Carromboard With A Grainy Playing Surface And A Resilient Border Rail

ABSTRACT

A new and improved carromboard utilizing a grainy playing surface, a resilient border rail, and game pieces with a plurality of convex projections on their underside. This new version of the carromboard is lighter, more durable, easier and more cost effective to manufacture. The design reduces the coefficient of friction and eliminates afore used powders, thereby improving the game.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

This Invention relates to a game board and more specifically to a newand improved game board for use in the playing of a traditional boardgame of the Indian subcontinent, known as Carrom. The origins of Carromare obscure at best. Some believe it was the invention of the Maharajahsof India. Some believe that it was introduced by the British. Othersbelieve it originated in Burma, Egypt or Ethiopia. What we do know isthat over the past century or so, Carrom has become the regional pastimeof the Indian subcontinent, as well as other countries where SouthAsians have migrated.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION—PRIOR ART

Any discussion of the prior art throughout the specification should inno way be considered as an admission that such prior art is widely knownor forms part of common general knowledge in the field.

Applicant has identified many obstacles and drawbacks to the popularexpansion of the carrom game. The first has to do with the manufactureof the frame which is made of solid hard wood and requires a curvedinner surface behind each pocket. A known way to make this inner cornerinvolves joining four pieces of hardwood at the corners withhigh-quality dovetail joints and then routing out the inner edge of theframe, so as to provide an inner curved surface at each of the fourcorners. This way of making the inner corner, however, is expensive andlabor intensive; it requires equipment capable of accuracy of detail andan experienced, skilled operator to produce a high quality frame. Thismethod is also wasteful of raw material since the routed out portion isreduced to dust. In South Asian countries where routing equipment andexperienced technicians are not readily available, manufacturers ofcarromboards solve this problem by carving a corner piece by hand, whichthey insert into a keyhole at each corner. While this alternative way ofmaking the inner corner is more labor intensive than the first methodmentioned, it requires no exceptional skill. Since the cost of southAsian labor is relatively less expensive, as compared to the cost oflabor in the United States, virtually all South Asian manufacturers usethe inner carved corner fabrication technique. A carved corner piece canhowever work loose. Most International carromboards available today arehandmade in India without the benefit of modern machinery andtechnology. Unfortunately, as a result, variations in finish andmaterial are normal.

The second drawback with the traditional carromboard, is that the flatsquare playing surface, being made of plywood, is hand polished to avery smooth finish. Apart from being labor intensive and time consuming,there is no uniformity and no two pieces are exactly alike.

Aside from the drawbacks created by the way the frame and the board aremanufactured, as discussed above, the other major obstacle to thewidespread popularization of international game of carrom is therequired use of very fine dry powders. Powders (e.g., boric powder,french chalk, soapstone powder, etc.) are required on the playingsurface of the carromboard, to make the game pieces and striker move andslide better over the playing surface. The powder is sprinkled, ordusted on the playing surface. The powder is necessary for the smoothgliding of the playing pieces on the playing surface. The strikerplaying piece is made of a smooth hard plastic material and the slidingof a smooth plastic piece over a very smooth, highly polished playingsurface causes a binding effect and therefore the pieces cannot movevery well or freely; that necessitates the need for the use of thesepowders, which are sprinkled or dusted on often and at regular intervalsto enable the game pieces and the striker to glide and move smoothlyover the playing surface. These powders are very fine and some of themare also toxic, making them a health hazard. The players, as well as thespectators, are at risk of inhaling these fine powders. The powder alsogets on the hands and clothes of the players. It also collects at theedges of the board, which impedes the rebounding action of the pieces;thus it has to be brushed, blown, or dusted regularly and that resultsin more of this fine powder getting into the air.

Another drawback of the traditional carromboard is that its a gamethat's played both indoors and outdoors, and being made of plywood, itssurface is very susceptible to the elements, like high humidity,dampness and liquid spills. Plywood tends to absorb moisture and canwarp.

Another drawback to the enjoyment of this game is that the playingsurface is surrounded by thick wooden rails, which are made of a hardwood, which make a very loud knocking sound when the game pieces and thestriker hit and rebound against them. Since it's often played indoors,it can be very disturbing and distracting to others in the house,specially older people and people who are ill or resting.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION—OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES

The inherent drawbacks as discussed above, in the manufacture andperformance of International carromboards today is a major factor in theneed for improvement on these carromboards.

The present carromboard incorporates features and construction unlikeany previously known in the playing of the game, which heretofore wastraditionally played on a flat smooth plywood surface, with a raisedborder rail made of hardwood.

Accordingly several objects and advantages of my carromboard are

(a) To provide a carromboard that does not require the use of toxic orother powders to be sprinkled on the board to facilitate the smoothmovement of the game pieces and striker.(b) To create a standardized carromboard that is of uniform quality.(c) To provide a carromboard that is quieter and makes less sound whenits played.(d) To provide a carromboard that is more durable and less susceptibleto external conditions like humidity, dampness or other atmosphericconditions.

Further objects and advantages are to provide a carromboard that islighter in weight, and easier and more cost-effective to manufacture.

The above and other objects and advantages will become apparent from thespecification and drawings.

SUMMARY

An improved carromboard according to the present invention comprises:

(1) a square, flat carromboard with a grainy playing surface, over whichflat disc-like pieces slide. The grainy surface enables the disc-likepieces to slide and move over the playing surface much more easily, asthere is less friction, because the grainy surface reduces the contactpoints between the two surfaces, thereby eliminating the need for theuse of powders to facilitate the movement of the pieces.(2) a one piece molded border rail surrounding the playing surface whichhas a resilient rebounding front face against which the game piecesrebound or ricochet. The one piece molding of the border rail helpseliminate a lot of labor and costs associated with the making of theframe. Also, the resilient rebounding front face makes for a quietergame with less sound. The underside of the border rail is hollow ortrough like, which means that it has three sides, the top and the twosides, and it's open at the bottom, which results in reduction ofmaterial used, thereby reducing the cost of manufacture.(3) the game pieces have a plurality of orderly arranged convex circularprojections on their underside, which is the side they slide on. Theprojections on its underside reduces the contact points, and thus thefriction, between the game pieces and the playing surface, therebyfurther helping in the smooth movement of the pieces.(4) since the playing surface and the border rail are injection moldedof plastic material, and the resilient strip is also manufactured by amolding or calendering process, the result is a uniform and standardizedcarromboard, which is lighter in weight and more cost effective tomanufacture. The plastic material is also more durable and notsusceptible to variations in atmospheric conditions.

DRAWINGS

In the drawings

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of the carromboard

FIG. 2 shows a plan view of the carromboard

FIG. 3 shows the bottom side view of the carromboard

FIG. 4 shows a sectional view of the box of FIG. 2 taken at thesectioning plane and in the direction indicated by section lines 4-4

FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of the game piece

FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of the striker

FIG. 7 shows a bottom view of the game piece

FIG. 8 shows a bottom view of the Striker

FIG. 9 shows a sectional view of the box of FIG. 7 taken at thesectional plane and in the direction indicated by section lines 9-9.

FIG. 10 shows a sectional view of the box of FIG. 8 taken at thesectional plane and in the direction indicated by section lines 10-10

DRAWINGS—REFERENCE NUMERALS

70 carromboard 22 playing surface 24 border rails 26 rebounding surfacestrip 28 markings 30 A–D Pockets 32 Groove in the border rail 34reinforcing supports 36 groove in playing surface 38 ridges 40 A–D nets42 playing disks 44 striker 46 convex projections 48 A–D legs 50projecting members 52 fastening nuts 54 bottom recess in the border rail56 holes in the playing surface

DETAILED DESCRIPTION—PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

With reference to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of acarromboard 70 and FIG. 2 shows the top view of the carromboard 70. Thecarromboard of the present invention comprises a carromboard 70 as seenin FIGS. 1 and 2, which show a playing surface 22 on which is mounted aborder rail 24. The border rail 24, which is a boundary wall surroundingthe periphery of the playing surface 22 is molded as a unitary piece, soits referred to as a border rail 24, even though it encompasses all thefour sides. As seen in FIG. 4, the border rail 24 has a longitudinalslot or a groove 32 along and under its top front end into which the topedge of a resilient rebounding strip 26 is inserted with the stiff sidefacing front; the back is bonded to the inner front face of the borderrail 24. The lower front end of the rail, together with the bondedresilient rubber strip, is inserted into a groove 36 along theperipheral edges of the playing surface 22 and attached thereto, therebyhaving the rubber strip secured well. As seen in FIGS. 3 and 4 theborder rail 24 has on its underside a plurality of projecting members 50which are so spaced as to fit into the corresponding matching holes 56provided along the peripheral edges of the playing surface 22. Theattachment of the border rail 24 to the playing surface 22 isaccomplished by inserting the projecting members 50 into thecorresponding holes 54 and attaching nut like devices 52 at the bottomto secure them. Together with the use of nuts, other bonding means canalso be used such as welding, using bonding adhesives, or other means toget a more secure bond. The playing surface 22 presents a square flatgrainy surface over which there can slide a plurality of disks or gamepieces 42 (FIG. 5), and a striker 44 (FIG. 6). The game pieces 42 andthe striker 44 are made of hard plastic material, with a low coefficientof friction. The game pieces alternately could also be made of a hardwood. As seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, in the corners of the playing surface 22there are arranged four circular pockets 30A, 30B, 30C and 30D which areintended to receive the game pieces 42. At the bottom of each pocket asseen in FIG. 3, there is a piece of netting 40A, 40B, 40C and 40D, or anopen top box or any other means, affixed below the corner pocket holesto collect the pocketed game pieces 42. As seen in FIGS. 1 and 2 theplaying surface 22 will present suitable markings 28 (such as lines andcircles) which are dependent upon the type of game being played. Theplaying surface 22 is injection molded of a plastic material with a lowco-efficient of friction such as, but not limited to, high densitypolyethylene, nylon, UHMW-PE, or polypropylene. The border rail 24 isinjection molded of a strong, durable and rigid plastic material such asABS, Hi-impact polystyrene, or any other similar plastic material. Theresilient strip 26 can be made of a number of materials such as rubber,synthetic rubber, neoprene, thermoplastic elastomers or any suchmaterial which has good resiliency and provides good reboundingproperties.

As seen in FIG. 3, on the bottom of the playing surface 22 there arenumerous ridges 38, which crisscross the length and width of the playingsurface thereby imparting it with strength, support and rigidity. Theridges 38 are molded in with the playing surface.

Also seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, the border rail 24 has on its bottom aninner recess 54 which extends substantially the entire length of theborder rail. To give it more support, strength and stability there havebeen provided multiple support cross-bars 34 on each of its four sideson the underside, in the bottom inner recess 54 of the border rail 24.

Also seen in FIG. 3, there are four legs 48A, 48B, 48C and 48D, about 3to 4 inches tall, provided at the bottom of the board.

As seen in FIG. 5, the game piece 42 is a cylindrical disc shape and ismade of hard plastic or hard wood. The striker 44 (FIG. 6), which is amaster disc, also has a cylindrical disc shape but is larger in diameterthan the game piece. The striker is made of hard plastic. FIGS. 5, 7 and9 show different views of the game piece. FIG. 5 shows a perspectiveview, FIG. 7 shows a bottom view and FIG. 9 shows a sectional view ofthe box of FIG. 7 taken at the sectional plane and in the directionindicated by section lines 9-9. FIGS. 6, 8, and 10 show different viewsof the striker. FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of the striker, FIG. 8shows the bottom view and FIG. 10 shows a sectional view of the box ofFIG. 8 taken at the sectional plane and in the direction indicated bysection lines 10-10. They both have orderly arranged convex circularprojections 46 on their underside

Operation

With reference to the Figures, the carromboard of the present inventioncomprises a game board 70, presenting a square flat grainy bed orplaying surface 22 preferably made of a plastic material with a lowcoefficient of friction, on which can slide the game pieces 42 and thestriker 44. The striker is a disk that is propelled by the flicking of afinger, and when so propelled, to glide and strike the game pieces onthe playing surface 22 and strike and rebound against each other andagainst the rail 24 which delimits the playing area 22. Because theplaying surface 22 is grainy, it reduces the contact points between allplaying pieces (42 and 44) and the playing surface, thereby reducing thefriction between the sliding pieces and the playing surface. Thatreduction of friction allows for a smooth movement or sliding of thepieces on the playing surface; thereby eliminating the need of anyexternal lubricants such as fine powders, or boric acid powders, whichhave been historically used as anti-friction aids.

In the corners of the playing surface 22, there are arranged fourcircular pockets 30A, 30B, 30C, 30D which are intended to receive thegame pieces 42 through the openings. At the bottom of each pocket30A-30D there is a piece of netting 40A, 40B, 40C, 40D or other meansaffixed below the corner pocket holes to collect the pocketed gamepieces 42. As seen in FIGS. 1 and 4, the border rail 24 has attached toit on its front face, a resilient strip 26, which the game pieces 42 andthe striker 44 strike and rebound against. It is important that in aproperly constructed carromboard, the angle of incidence and the angleof reflection of the game piece and the striker against and away fromthe side rail should be equal, to insure accurate results in play. Toinsure this, the cushion must be lively, must possess the maximum ofresiliency without being ‘soft’ in any way. If a cushion is at all soft,a temporary indentation is made at the point of contact and this notonly destroys the true angle of reflection of the disk, but it alsofails to impart the proper repulsive force or ‘legs’ to the disk to makea true shot. Unfortunately a high degree of resiliency in the reboundingsurface necessitates a certain degree of softness in the strip. Toovercome this softness in the strip and yet retain its resiliency in thehighest degree, my current preference is to glue, bond, blend or adhereto its front face, or the working face, a thin stiff sheet of plastic. Astiff upper layer of plastic provides a hardened front for the workingface, such that an indentation of the cushion upon impact is prevented,while maintaining the resiliency; thus a true angle of deflection isimparted to the game piece and striker. Other stiffening material couldbe similarly attached or molded in with the strip. It is also possibleto get the right combination of stiffness and resiliency built into thestrip itself, thereby eliminating the need for attachment of anystiffening element to its front face. This resilient rebounding surfacemakes for a play that requires less effort and is much less noisy.

There are some very distinct, definite and unique advantages of thedesign and construction of my carromboard. Since the four sides of theborder rail 24 are injection molded as one piece, as a unitary unit, iteliminates the labor and the costs associated with the making of theborder frame assembly. It also uses less material because the way itsmade is that it has only three sides, the top and the two sides, and itis open on its bottom side, almost like the letter “n”. In other wordsthe underside of the border rail running along its length is hollow ortrough-like. To give it more support, strength and rigidity there aremultiple support cross-bars 34 on each of the four sides on theunderside in the hollow of the rail 24. Thus not only is there a savingin the material cost, it also results in a carromboard that is lighter.As seen in FIG. 3 on the bottom of the playing surface 22 there are aplurality of ridges 38, which are injection molded in with the playingsurface 22, and which crisscross the width and length of the undersideof the playing surface 22 to impart strength, stability, support andrigidity to the playing surface 22. The ridges compensate for thereduction in the thickness of the playing surface, thereby furtherhelping to reduce the material cost without sacrificing the strength,stability, support and rigidity of the board. The new carromboard islighter in weight, and easier and more cost effective to manufacture.Additionally, this carromboard is built through automated manufacturingprocesses, resulting in a standardized carromboard with uniform qualityeach time.

To further facilitate the movement of the game pieces 42 and the striker44 on the playing surface 22, the game pieces 42 and the striker 44 areprovided with a plurality of orderly arranged convex circularprojections 46 on their underside. The underside is the side intended tocome into contact with the playing surface. The convex circularprojections provide fewer contact points between the playing pieces (42and 44) and the playing surface, thereby reducing the friction createdbetween them; less friction means the game pieces 42 and the striker 44can glide and move more easily on the playing surface 22.

CONCLUSION, RAMIFICATIONS AND SCOPE

The reader can see that the carromboard of this invention provides astandardized carromboard which is

of uniform quality

lighter in weight

quieter and makes less sound in play

easier and more cost effective to manufacture

more durable and less susceptible to external atmospheric conditions,and

does not require the use of toxic or other powders to be sprinkled ordusted on the playing surface.

While my above description contains many specifics, these should not beconstrued as limitations on the scope of the invention, but rather as anexemplification of one preferred embodiment thereof. Many othervariations are possible. Accordingly, the scope of the invention shouldbe determined not by the embodiments illustrated, but by the appendedclaims and their legal equivalents.

1. An improved carromboard providing a playing surface comprising aflat, square grainy playing surface, the outer peripheral sides of whichare bounded by a border rail, and over said flat grainy playing surface,cylindrical disc shaped game pieces slide.
 2. An improved carromboard asclaimed in claim 1 wherein in the corners of said playing surface arearranged circular pockets which are intended to receive the game pieces.3. An improved carromboard as claimed in claim 1 wherein said playingsurface is molded of a plastic material with a low coefficient offriction.
 4. An improved carromboard as claimed in claim 1 wherein thereare a plurality of ridges on the underside of said playing surface. 5.An improved carromboard as claimed in claim 1 wherein on the bottom ofsaid playing surface are located four legs of sufficient length spacedequally from the center of said playing surface to balance and supportthe carromboard on a table or on a floor.
 6. An improved carromboardcomprising of a border rail, which is molded as a single unitary piece,surrounding the periphery of the playing surface.
 7. An improvedcarromboard as claimed in claim 6 wherein a resilient strip, having astiff front face, is attached at its back to the inner front face ofsaid border rail wherein, said stiff side of the resilient strip isfacing out front.
 8. An improved carromboard as claimed in claim 6wherein said border rail has attached to its inner front face aresilient strip which has a proper combination of stiffness andresiliency as a means to get accurate results in the proper angle ofreflection of the game pieces when they strike against the said borderrail.
 9. An improved carromboard as claimed in claim 6 wherein saidborder rail has on its bottom side an inner recess which substantiallyextends the entire length of said border rail.
 10. An improvedcarromboard as claimed in claim 9 wherein said border rail has on itsunderside, a plurality of support cross-bars on each of its four sides,in the inner recess of said border rail.
 11. An improved carromboard asclaimed in claim 6 wherein said border rail is attached to said playingsurface by means of inserting a plurality of projecting members, whichare projecting downwards from the bottom of said border rail, into aplurality of holes in the peripheral edges of said playing surface andattaching a fastening device on the protruding members under saidplaying surface and thereby securing the two pieces together.
 12. Animproved carromboard as claimed in claim 11 wherein said border rail isattached and secured to said playing surface by other bonding means. 13.An improved carromboard comprising circular disc shaped game pieceswhich are provided with a plurality of orderly arranged convexprojections on their underside.
 14. An improved carromboard as claimedin claim 13 wherein said disc shaped game pieces are made of a hardplastic material with a low coefficient of friction.